Donald Payne, Sr. (1934-2012) was the first African American to represent New Jersey in the U.S. House of Representatives. He had run for Congress twice before winning the seat in 1988. In 1970, Payne became the first African American to serve as president of the National Council of YMCAs. That year, he played a key role in helping Kenneth Gibson win his bid to become the first black mayor of

Republican Frank LoBiondo will retire from the U.S. House of Representatives in January after 24 years as a congressman. The winner of the open seat 2nd district race will become just the fourth person to represent the South Jersey seat in the last 50 years. The 2nd district has a long history of flipping red to blue. The last time a part held an open seat in this district was